Divine Celebrity 50 (Patreon)

“Not bad for a newbie, right,” Thad said as he pushed me toward the center of the group as the defensive players chattered around me in the locker room. The offensive players would have had a contrasting, angrier expression, but they had left the stadium more than an hour ago. 

Once again underlining Coach Spencer’s understanding of difficult training was wildly different than what was necessary to be successful.  

Unlike their training, our training run for three more hours, and it had been exhausting. After the initial show, Coach Bill certainly didn’t have any mercy on us, but didn’t let us directly compete with the offense, instead running us through several painful yet boring drills, mostly tackling dummies, breaking our victor through monotone exhaustion and pain. 

Yet, despite the extra pain that came from my success, the mood of our half of the team was excellent, finally treating me as a part of the team. Even the other backup linebackers lost their animosity. A part of it was certainly the general football attitude, accepting anyone as long as they showed the necessary grit and ability. 

Though, I had no doubt that the show of superiority I delivered through the unfortunate twenty-two was certainly a factor as well, showing I was not merciful when ticked off. 

And, more importantly, stealing people’s girlfriends was not my only ability. 

Still, even with the recent boost I had received, both in Agility and Strength, I wasn’t exactly an overwhelming physical display. Measured in pure physical abilities, I wouldn’t be able to get any chance to play unless the team experienced a particularly unfortunate string of injuries. 

Yet, combined with my intangible abilities, it was almost a certainty that I would receive a significant playing opportunity. And, aware of that, the rest of the linebackers were ready to accept the new ranking system, grudgingly if not happily. 

Normally, the other starters were supposed to react badly to my presence, but considering my skill set, there was only one starter position I could take. The middle linebacker, along with the mike position. 

Since Carter, both as the mike and the captain, kept his mouth shut very pointedly, none of them said anything. 

Just like that, I realized as the people around me joked and mocked, I had an actual place on the team, albeit it was arguable whether it was earned, or acquired through cheating. How to position the System was rather arguable. 

Not that I cared much. I wouldn’t be the first man that climbed unfairly to the top. It might be unfair, but so was having rich parents, or being born as a genetic miracle with unbeatable speed. 

More importantly, rich parents and great genetics usually didn’t come with a looming mythical threat that forced them to readjust their understanding of life, one that came with a lot of implied threat of violence. 

And it wasn’t like I had overwhelming physical abilities thanks to the system. Even with the boost I received, I was barely strong enough to count as a starter. 

I felt a strong slap on my back. I turned reflexively, ready to defend myself, only to meet with the smiling face of another defensive lineman “So, Terry,” he said as he squeezed my shoulder, in a manner that could be classified as excessively hard. “Three days of training, and three big surprises, any other surprises for us tomorrow?” 

Despite the threateningly painful way he squeezed my shoulder, his words were cheerful.  

“I shouldn’t say,” I shoot back with a smirk, ignoring the painful presence on my shoulder. Compared to the endless full-strength tackles I had fought earlier, that little bit of pain was nothing. “Someone should keep you old-timers on your toes.” 

“Too right,” quipped one of the younger backups from the side, and the locker room, at least the side the defensive team had been using, exploded in laughter, echoing from the empty section. 

“Good work,” commented one of the others, a starter safety. “Today, you managed to impress the coach, and it’s a hard thing to do, especially for a freshman.” 

“Sophomore, actually,” I corrected. 

“God damn it, what a waste” shouted one of the others from the side, and turned to Carter. “Captain, we clearly need to update our walk-in selection, maybe even have a talk with the scouts. We are not in a position to miss monsters like him just because he’s a bit on the scrawny side,” he added, slapping my back to emphasize. 

“Hey, do you think I’m happily missing the potential for a decent mike,” Carter answered. His tone was much softer, but that didn’t prevent the room for to fall silent for a fleeting moment. After the study session, the fact that Carter intended to treat me as a successor was implied. 

But there was a great difference between implications and open declarations. 

I caught a couple of the linebackers looking rather dissatisfied, but with my performance both on field and off the field, they didn’t have too much to argue.  

Soon, the cheer returned to the room, and the other players started congratulating me, though their attitudes were slightly different. They realized that things were going to change. 

Yet, the number of well wishes wasn’t just about Carter’s decision, but also about me finally earning a real place on the team. 

Considering I had joined the team as one of the certified ‘nerds’ had been attention-grabbing enough, and the spectacle between me, Megan, and Kevin was nothing short of truly spectacular. Yet, that didn’t mean they truly accepted me as a part of the team, but treated me more as an oddity. 

The only real exception had been Thad, and even then, he had the net benefits of two cars — one he didn’t lose, and once he gained. 

Even the show I had displayed at the tactical meeting hadn’t been enough to earn true acceptance. On the contrary, it probably lost me some of my already limited clout around the players, though more than enough trade considering the impact it had on the coaching staff. The game required a lot of strategic and tactical acumen, but quite a few players resented that requirement, more focused on the physical aspect than the tactical competition. 

For them, the amazing performance I had displayed tactically was just another sign I was a nerd, therefore making my place on the team suspect. 

Facing two running backs in a rigged game and taking down both in the process was different. Of course, the last encounter between me and the number twenty-two was rather inconclusive considering I used his facemask to pull him down, which would have earned a significant penalty rather than a victory. 

Yet, playing dirty, especially under those exact circumstances, was accepted much more readily. 

Today’s performance earned me true acceptance from the team, managed to shine from the perspective of the coaches, and even received Carter’s unofficial declaration about passing the flag to me — with the implicit assumption that I continued to perform, of course. 

With the number of people trying to talk to me, I was one of the latest that finished preparing after the team, though, when I finally reached my phone, I had found a lot of notifications, and a message on top. 

‘You owe me one,’ read the message. It was from Megan. 

A quick check of the notifications was enough to show me her meaning. She had shared that live stream several times, and she wasn’t the only one that shared. Several other girls that belonged to some of the more popular sororities had shared the video as well, usually with a lot of comments.

It answered the question of why I had received such an intense amount of Intent, enough to give me two more physical Traits even with my guide greedily stealing a significant portion to recover. Even now, I was still receiving a steady stream of Intent, but it lacked the earlier intensity, making it much more difficult for me to channel it to the System for more Traits. 

‘Agreed,’ I wrote back to Megan. 

Technically, since I didn’t ask her for her help, I might have argued that it didn’t count as a favor and I didn’t care about my popularity, but if I did so, she wouldn’t help in a similar situation in the future. And, even more, she might even decide to be a nuisance. And, as Kevin could attest, she really knew how to do so if she was determined, and it was not something I could afford with my need for attention.

One that had more objective reasons than just a narcissistic drive for fame. 

‘Good,’ she wrote back. 

It was a single word, with no emojis or other tricks to soften it. ‘I owe you one, as long as it’s reasonable to request,’ I added, just to be on the safe side.  

‘Ahh, you’re no fun,’ she answered, this time with a smiley, though I had no doubt we would have a detailed discussion about what constituted a reasonable request. My earlier experience showed me that Megan was the exact kind of person that would push herself to the limit. 

With a sigh, I put the phone back in my pocket and stepped into my car, battling against the exhaustion that crept up after the shower. With the intensity I had been experiencing the last two days, even the supernatural addition to my Stamina was barely enough to keep me awake. I earned a long sleep. 

With all the impressive things I managed to achieve in the last few days, that rest was certainly earned.